George, of G.I. Jigsaw, and I, seem to have created a holiday tradition these past couple years. Wherein around the holiday season we'll make a run to a (not so) local toy shop, and do a little self shopping. Last year I nabbed up some good NES games, cups, and a G.I. Joe "figure". 2020 I got a mint in the box GameBoy, and an additional NES game.
This year, we took a trip to two places, Eternia Dreams, and Toy Exchange.
As always, the shop was filled to the brim with 80's and beyond toy goodness. From the common to the rare, there's definitely something here for everyone.
Truthfully, I didn't come on the trip with the intentions of finding anything I would want to buy. My toy buying days are pretty much behind me in favor of collecting 80's albums. However, when I when down the DC isle, I about fell over when I saw right up front on the peg a figure I had been looking for in the wild since 2018.
My initial plan was to see if they had a Tiger Force Flint to replace the poor purchase of the one I made at the Hershey Action Figure and Toy Show, also an outing with G.I. Jigsaw. At a glance, I didn't see it on the pegs, and didn't have much desire to go digging. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple Tiger Force figures on a single peg, and dove in. While the figure wasn't on that peg, it was indeed on the one next to it. SCORE!
Located just a couple doors down,the owners of Eternia Dreams also opened Starship Lex, a store which houses even more Star Wars and Star Trek related stuff, as well as a secondary Eternia Dreams which is dedicated to all things toy cars. It seemed a bit odd to me that they would lease the additional spaces, but hey, whatever makes you happy.
After a bite to eat at the Crazy Plum, the diner we also went to last time, we were on our way home. This put us on a trajectory for Toy Exchange, which is a store we pass both ways going to and from, and a location I've been to many times before.
I didn't snap too many photos inside because there's never much room to move around, let alone get back far enough to take a decent shot. These photos do little to no justice to the shear volume of stuff crammed inside this little shop.
The owner had three 1982 carry cases from G.I. Joe, and I contemplated buying all three, but at minimum, one. Ultimately, I ended up walking away. The bottom line was that I had not need for them, and couldn't justify the purchase.
As typical with my prior year purchases, the items picked up today were put aside, with a few others, to be forgotten about until Christmas Eve, when I finally allowed myself to have them. And, here's what I got!Batman Returns Quick Change Bruce Wayne! I've been looking for this figure for a long time! So glad to have this in my collection of 1989 / 1990 Batman movie related toys. The cardback is in terrible shape, but it will soon be in the trash anyway.Tiger Force Flint (re)wraps up my complete collection of 1988 Tiger Force Joes.
I stopped at Big Planet Comics with the intentions of finding an Amazing Spider-Man issue 82. Instead, I found six copies of McFarlane's Spider-Man number 1. Well...I'm not going to leave those out in the wild if spotted.
This year I also crossed off a few rare, and only available abroad, 80's CD's. Captain Sensible's Women and Captains First (1982), Laban's Caught By Surprise (1985), Raff's self titled 1984 album, and Regina's Curiosity (1986). I'm looking forward to firing all four of these up for a future Retro Spins.
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